Asprilla, who played for Parma and Newcastle United in the 1990s, said on Tuesday that masked, armed men entered his homestead on the outskirts of Tulua in southwest Colombia where he has been living with his family.
"They were four (men) in two cars... they threatened me, they told me to contact their chief because if I didn't they would kill my family and me," Asprilla was quoted by the daily El Tiempo as saying.
"I had to leave my own land, Tulua, as a victim of extortion by a group of anti-socials. My family was threatened in my presence, my father, my sisters," the 45-year-old said in a statement.
"Helpless and hurting, I took the decision for the security of my loved ones to leave Tulua," said Asprilla, who retired 10 years ago after a career that included winning the European Cup Winners Cup and UEFA Cup with Parma and playing for Colombia at two World Cups.
"I dedicated my life to representing my country abroad, to giving happiness to my Colombian people (and) when I settled down to rest, to recover the time lost with my (family), I'm forced to leave by the back door of my own town."
Asprilla's case, one of many similar incidents in southwest Colombia, has been taken up by national police chief Rodolfo Palomino, who guaranteed him and his family protection while they sought to identify and capture the culprits, police sources said.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Rex Gowar; Editing by John O'Brien)
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